Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies.Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

What’s Happened to Cliff Lee?

What in the world is going on with Cliff Lee? Has he been abducted by aliens and replaced with a look-alike? Maybe the aliens are trying to clone him for their big MLB invasion plan. But this guy they left behind is not fooling anyone. This is not the Cliff Lee we have come to know.

Lee has allowed 20 earned runs in his last four games, including 6 tonight against the Miami Marlins. He only made it through 4 2/3 innings before getting the hook. Lee looked so bad, that manager Charlie Manuel actually pulled him when the next batter scheduled to hit was the opposing pitcher. Ouch.

And it has not just been the last 4 games. Lee has been up and down all year, with a trip to the DL for a sore oblique thrown in the middle. So what exactly has happened to this 3-time All-Star and Cy Young award winner?

It seems clear that the only person who can answer that question is Cliff Lee. And right now, he does not seem to have a clue either.

This is now 13 starts for Lee in 2012 without recording a single win. It appears someone has stolen his mojo. Anyone have a self-help book we can toss at him?

But Lee’s season has paralleled the Phillies season as a whole. It has been a real head-scratcher all around, laden with injuries and disappointment.

The Phillies went on to lose their 3rd straight game tonight, which was a combination of Lee’s performance and a non-existent offense. The only Phillies run of the game through 8 innings was a solo homer by Hunter Pence.

To recap, Chase Utley is back and the Phillies have not won a game since. Ryan Howard is on a rehab assignment and will be back soon. But if the pitching continues along this dreadful path, none of it will matter.

So please, little green men, we are begging you! Return the real Cliff Lee to us before it is too late!

1 Comment

I think they’re picking them off one by one. They got Lincecum first, then Lee. Could it be they’re (whoever “they” are) be the cause behind Sabathia’s injury. Maybe there’s someone who doesn’t like how much the pitchers are thriving right now. Maybe it’s just a funk for both of the previously mention pitchers, but come on…let’s not get carried away.
-Mateo

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